The Bills signed first-round pick Maxwell Hairston and fourth-round pick Deone Walker to rookie contracts on Friday, leaving just one unsigned selection from Buffalo’s 2025 nine-player draft class.
Hairston, a cornerback from Kentucky taken with the No. 30 overall pick, is expected to compete for a starting job. The All-SEC second-team selection tied a school record with three interceptions returned for touchdowns during his collegiate career. He is projected to sign a four-year, $15.3 million deal with a $7.7 million signing bonus, according to Spotrac.
Buffalo’s top pick sat out the final day of minicamp with a minor hamstring injury, general manager Brandon Beane said the issue isn’t expected to linger.
“A little tweak. Tweaked his hammy area. He should be fine,” Beane said Thursday. “ He’s getting treatment. Should be good to go. He’ll rehab it and be ready to go for camp.”
Walker, Hairston’s teammate at Kentucky, was selected No. 109 overall in the fourth round. The defensive tackle was named to the All-SEC first team in 2023 and second team in 2024. A two-time team captain, he started 36 of 37 career games for the Wildcats. His rookie deal is expected to be worth about $5.2 million over four years, including a $1 million signing bonus.
The lone unsigned player is second-round defensive tackle T.J. Sanders, one of 30 second-round picks still without a deal. Sanders is one of the biggest Bills picks by stature and draft capital. Buffalo traded up to No. 41 to select the 6-foot-4, 297-pounder out South Carolina. Sanders has participated in Buffalo’s offseason workouts.
The second round has seen delays across the league after the top two picks in that round, Carson Schwesinger (Cleveland Browns) and Jayden Higgins (Houston Texans), secured unprecedented contracts. They’re the first two second-round picks ever to get fully guaranteed deals. The other second-rounders are hoping to follow suit.
Hairston’s signing leaves three first-round picks from the 2025 draft class still unsigned: No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter (Jacksonville Jaguars), No. 17 Shemar Stewart (Cincinnati Bengals), and No. 20 Jahdae Barron (Denver Broncos). Stewart left Cincinnati’s mandatory minicamp on Thursday amid the contract dispute.
Rookie salaries are fixed within a pre-determined pay scale based on when a player is selected in the draft. Teams get a fifth-year option on first-round picks.
Buffalo signed six of their nine draft picks, along with 12 undrafted free agents, on May 9.
The Bills open training camp next month at St. John Fisher University.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills sign draft picks Hairston, Walker, leaving one of their biggest without a deal
Reporting by Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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